Father and Son Campout Food

Every year, my church puts on a Father and Son campout in the Spring. It's usually put on for a whole region, or stake, which consists of several congregations, or wards. The stake would arrange for breakfast for everyone--it was bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches or cereal--but left each ward to take care of dinner individually.

When the campout was announced over the pulpit, it was presented as a fend-for-yourself dinner with the stake providing breakfast. But since I knew I'd be cooking in a dutch oven (DO) anyway, and I figured that a fend-for-yourself dinner might frighten off a few of those less adventurous souls who might like to come, I volunteered my services as a chef. I got approval, I got a budget, and I went shopping. Oh, and I begged and pleaded and managed to borrow two 12" DOs from ward members, which was good because I didn't have near enough cast iron to serve the 20 or so people that planned to come. Whew!

The menu was Apricot Chicken Divine, 60-in-a-12 (biscuits), and Cinnamon Roll Apple Cobbler. (Most of the recipes came from a Dutch Oven Yahoo! group.) I did as much of the prepwork at home that I could, like pre-boiling the chicken, measuring and combining sauces, cutting apples, etc., so I could cut the hands-on time at camp to as little as possible.

After hurdling a minor snafu--I couldn't get the charcoal lit!!--dinner came off great! It was loved by both dads and lads, and I heard from a few wives on Sunday that their husbands kept raving about the chicken. :)


Apricot Chicken Divine
Note: This recipe doesn't have to be made in a dutch oven--it can also be done in a large, lidded, oven-proof casserole.

Prep
(At-home prep:) Cut chicken into large pieces and pre-cook. Measure flour and salt into a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Combine preserves, mustard, and yogurt in a zip-top bag.

Preheat DO for 10 minutes with 10 coals below and 14 coals above.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp. margarine
4 Tbsp. cooking oil
10 chicken
3/4 c. white flour
2 tsp. salt
1 c. apricot preserves
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 c. nonfat yogurt
4 Tbsp. slivered almonds

Directions
Shake chicken in plastic bag with flour and salt until coated. Melt butter and oil in DO. Place chicken in single layer in the DO. Combine apricot preserves, mustard and yogurt; spread it on the chicken and bake.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, rotating DO 90° and lid another 90° every 15 minutes to prevent burning.

When warmed throughout, sprinkle the almonds on top.


60 Rolls in a 12

Prep
Preheat 12" DO (a "deep" DO is better) for 10 minutes with 9 coals below and 15 coals above. (About 350 degrees F, although most of the heat is coming from the top to prevent burning on the bottoms.)

Ingredients
6 tubes refrigerator biscuits (totaling 60 biscuits)

Directions
Liberally spray inside of DO with cooking spray. Arrange biscuits on end in concentric circles (you'll probably get three circles) with narrow sides facing the center of the DO. Faces of the biscuits should face each other. Jam them all in there--they'll fit.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, rotating DO 90° and lid another 90° every 15 minutes to prevent burning.


Cinnamon Roll Apple Cobbler

Prep
Peel and slice apples. Place apple slices in a large bowl. Combine caramel topping and flour and pour over the apple slices. Toss with a fork to mix.

Separate cinnamon rolls and cut into quarters.

Preheat 10" DO for 10 minutes with 8 coals below and 12 coals above. (About 350 degrees F)

Ingredients
8 cups apples, peeled - sliced
1 jar caramel ice cream topping (12 oz)
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup pecans - very finely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pkg. refrigerated cinnamon rolls (8 or 10 count)
6 Tbsp. margarine - melted cooking spray

Directions
Place the apples into DO that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the apples are just tender.

Combine the pecans and brown sugar in a small bowl. Dip each piece of the roll into the melted margarine and then roll in the sugar nut mixture. Arrange the pieces of roll over the top of the apples and bake until the rolls are golden brown and the apples are done, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

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